Keeping track of Chicago area fire departments

Archive for July 1st, 2018

Despite offers from neighboring communities to provide fire protection services to the residents of Knollwood, the Rockland Fire Protection District board is stating a preference to maintain its own department. However, questions remain about the future of the RFPD building and the composition of the board.

The RFPD board currently believes neither a combination offer from Lake Forest and Libertyville nor a separate one from Lake Bluff to take over fire protection and emergency services in Knollwood are good options now. Currently, the RFPD provides fire and emergency services to the roughly 600 homes in Knollwood, which is the unincorporated area that is just north and west of Lake Bluff.

This was a decision arrived at by all three RFPD board members at a June 11 meeting and they followed the recommendation of an attorney retained by the board to explore all options.

Lake Forest and Libertyville have offered to take over the services on a long-term basis, but Rogers scoffed at the price tag for the first year of service and expected rise in cost in following years.

At their Tuesday village board meeting, Libertyville trustees voted for an amended proposal of $472,357, down from the original price of just over $530,000.

The Lake Bluff proposal includes the village purchasing a used ambulance and then jointly using paid personnel and volunteers to provide services to Knollwood.

92 percent of the calls from Knollwood are answered by Libertyville’s Atkinson Road station, which is close by, thus such a change may not be necessary.

Discussions with representatives of the board and the two competing groups are expected to continue with revised proposals.

Last year the RFPD received roughly 250 calls for fire and emergency medical services in the RFPD area, which encompasses about 4/5 of a square mile from the Canadian Pacific railroad tracks on the east to Bayonne Avenue to the west and Route 176 to the south and Atkinson Road to the north, including the Sanctuary housing complex.

While the RFPD board is stating a preference to maintain the status quo, their building on Skokie Highway in the southeast corner of the district has an uncertain future. In April, the Illinois Department of Transportation sent a letter to the Lake Country Transportation Department stating the property would have to be acquired to allow for a reconstructed interchange at Routes 41 and 176 in Lake Bluff.

An IDOT spokeswoman though said the land acquisition process is not likely to start before 2023.

Another future factor in the decision making is the composition of the RFPD board as voters moved in 2017 to go to an elected board from one appointed by the Lake County Board chairman. Therefore, new board members may have another outlook on the future.